It is perhaps worth clarifying that this Faculty does not have "chairs"; it is organised into institutes, which are fairly large teaching groups, with teaching, research and extension or advisory functions, which are thematically coherent and more or less closely linked to degree courses, as is the case of InCo with the Computer Engineering degree. They also tend to teach courses for other degrees at the University, as well as postgraduate courses: specialisations, master's degrees and doctorates.
Others will tell the history of the institute, recount the beginnings and remember great people, among them engineers or mathematicians from the faculty and foreign professors, such as the well-remembered Manuel Sadosky. The story begins when it becomes clear that computing, hitherto considered a matter for experts, deserves to be a university subject.
At the time of the University's intervention, the InCo had few teachers; the highest grade was grade 3 (in the university, grades range from 1 to 5) and very few had postgraduate training. Its (re)construction was marked by internal solidarity within the institute and the faculty. Some teachers took over the courses, which were very numerous, to allow others to do postgraduate studies, at that time abroad. Practically all of them returned. And the faculty used funds that had been consolidated at that time to hire these new PhDs. Today, it is the institute with the most teachers in the faculty, with 161, of whom approximately 50 have master's degrees and 40 have doctorates. The postgraduate programmes were greatly strengthened with the incorporation of computer science into the Basic Sciences Development Programme (Pedeciba). These professors are in charge of undergraduate and postgraduate courses and develop theoretical and applied research at international level. They advise on relevant and current topics, such as energy, mobility or computer security, among many others. The InCo moved from the top floor of the Vilamajó building to a new, purpose-built annex building with a much larger area.
The Computer Engineering degree is chosen by approximately half of all engineering students, which in 2017 was 1,600, to give an idea of the magnitude. However, in all engineering, and particularly in computing, there is what we could call negative unemployment, i.e. more demand for professionals than supply. We sometimes tell new students that this reality may be good for the individual job seeker, but it is not good for the country: there are ventures that fail to establish themselves because the lack of trained people is as serious as a shortage of energy or telecommunications. That's why we try to inspire vocations in children in various ways, including exhibitions, visits, girls' day, educational robotics and various other programmes. We also run Computer Technologist courses, in cooperation with UTU and the Technological University, at various locations around the country.
The InCo is a good example to show how we use the budget entrusted to us by society, and why we need more. This growth in quality and quantity from 1985 until now (only part of the 50 years) shows that a quality group of people has been built up, that there has been self-demand and that the needs of society and of young people have been taken into account; in other words, that the resources are well invested and made to work. However, many courses have to be taught to too large a group, some students drop out of courses, we do not always have adequate classrooms, we have planned courses that have not yet been implemented and some promising teachers are unable to develop their careers due to a lack of available time: we could do much better.
It is also a case that illustrates how wrong it is to divide science or knowledge into basic and applied: the institute publishes in international journals and also advises public bodies and private enterprises. Computer science, which had the important support of being part of Pedeciba and has several theoretical researchers who develop algorithms or studies on algorithms, contributes directly and indirectly, through professionals, to a productive and exporting sector of great importance. Software is a fast-growing export product, and Uruguay is the main exporter per person in this field. This industry without chimneys, with low entry investment, generating small, medium and large companies, is growing steadily, generating quality work, and this is clearly related to training in Engineering.
In order to support these industries and companies, the Uruguayan Chamber of Information and Communication Technologies (CUTI) and InCo, supported by the Faculty, created in 2003 the Software Testing Centre, which has developed testing capabilities, allowing collaboration with the software industry in this discipline, improving and ensuring the quality and compliance with specifications of the software produced.
In addition to their own importance in the economy, information technologies are integrated into almost all value chains, from manufacturing to agriculture, in an indispensable way. From the traceability of products to the optimisation of public services or the collection and good use of information.
For years now, as machines have become more powerful, simulation, mathematical modelling, virtual reality and intensive computing have been used more and more intensively to study phenomena or to test engineering processes or solutions cheaply and safely. In this sense, computing collaborates with research in multiple disciplines that are cultivated in the Faculty and, in general, in the University, such as mechanical design, telecommunications, the dynamics of the atmosphere or rivers, visual art, among many others.
In these young 50 years, the Faculty congratulates the colleagues of the InCo and with them all its members. We are happy that they are part of the range of engineering, with fruitful links to other areas of research. We feel that we are contributing to a country that creates and applies various technologies well, including information technology, which is of growing importance in its own right and for other fields of activity, from economic to artistic or recreational. We also feel that the future requires us.
Source: La Diaria.
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